Exciting times for a virgin trader
To a virgin trader the stock markets have without at doubt, been very interesting over the last couple of months to be a virgin trader.
Having started the summer (and my virgin share trading journey) waist deep in bedtime books on -yes you guessed it, share trading (well we had friends staying and I was sleeping in the den, so what else would I be doing?) I have come to realise it is no plain sailing – the risks are high. Yes, of course I could trade FTSE 100 shares in relative safety – if I could afford them. The big blue chips can be bloody expensive for the virgin trader budget, two shares and my account is empty. Anyway, most blue chips just bob up and down all day – little moves here and there. I suppose that is the whole point; no sudden huge drops or vertical leaps but, unless you’re playing with BIG money, your returns are going to be less than the actual costs of trading the damn things.
Now, I am not saying I am staying clear of them. I did venture into RBS shares over the summer and considering the state this bank is in, the shares have performed pretty well. I bought them at around 35p and they are now around 57p. That’s better than a kick up the derriere. I also bought into West China Cement early in the summer – before I had really done some proper research, in fact the risk paid off. Beginners luck? I bought them at 165p and now they are around 400p. Unfortunately the virgin sold them too early at 253p (a rookie mistake) but hey, that was a good profit. If they come back down a bit I will try and buy back in (budget allowing) as they look pretty good to me.
From the look of the markets this week I think things are settling down a bit now – or will that sentiment come back to bite me? This week I have a number of stocks I have been watching all summer, patiently waiting for the right time, and price (of course) to jump in. I can’t wait. Remember timing is everything.
It is certainly a scary adventure but to be honest it has got me by the short and curly’s.
v
